Off-Grid Emergency Response Studio

I’m completely fascinated by this Emergency Response Studio. The gist is that Paul Villinski created a solar-powered, mobile artist’s studio from an old FEMA-style trailer — it’s off-grid, sustainable, and an excellent example of eco-reuse. But there’s more. According to an article in the LA Times, apparently Villinski tried to buy one of the 143,123 FEMA trailers purchased by the government in the aftermath of Katrina, that is, until the government stopped selling them and began buying them back due to formaldehyde fumes from glues used to secure rugs, plywood, and other fixtures. So he bought this one for $5,015 from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife through a GAO auction. And after getting rid of the nesting rodents, he cleaned it up and pimped it out for an exhibit called Prospect .1 New Orleans starting early November 2008.

The 30-foot Gulfstream Cavalier has been gutted to get rid of toxic materials. It’s now powered by a 1.6 kW photovoltaic system comprising nine panels. The trailer also captures additional power from a 40-foot wind turbine and stores it in eight large batteries. The batteries are in the sub-floor and visible through Lucite panels on a portion of the floor section.